Big Cass
| birth_place = Queens, New York | death_date = | death_place = | resides = | billed = | trainer = Johnny Rodz | debut = 2010 | retired = }} William "Bill" Morrissey (August 16, 1986) is an American professional wrestler. He was previously signed to WWE on the Smackdown brand where he performed under the ring name Big Cass, a modification of his previous ring name, Colin Cassady. Professional wrestling career Early career (2010–2011) Morrissey wrestled under the ring name Big Bill Young in the World of Unpredictable Wrestling (WUW) promotion in 2010, owned by his trainer, Johnny Rodz. World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE (2011-2018) Florida Championship Wrestling (2011–2012) In June 2011, WUW announced that Morrissey had signed with Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), which was WWE's developmental territory at the time. Morrissey made first televised FCW appearance in July 2011, portraying the Dean of the University of Florida. Morrissey wrestled his first televised match under the ring name of Colin Cassady on the 4 September 2011 episode of FCW TV for a disqualification loss against Richie Steamboat. Cassady found no immediate success and continued to lose matches for the rest of 2011 and in early 2012. Cassady finally scored his first win on the 11 March 2012 episode of FCW TV by defeating Kenneth Cameron. Cassady's final FCW TV match was broadcast on 7 July 2012 and saw him defeat Aiden English. NXT (2012–2016) When WWE rebranded its developmental territory, FCW, into NXT in August 2012, Cassady's NXT television debut took place on 5 June 2013 with a loss to Mason Ryan. Cassady then formed an alliance with Enzo Amore, who had also previously lost to Ryan, and they labelled themselves "the realest guys in the room". In real life, Cassady first met Amore at the age of 15, when they played basketball together at West Fourth Street Courts in Manhattan, New York. Ryan defeated Cassady and Amore in consecutive singles matches, but lost to them in a handicap match. Ryan ultimately had the last laugh when he caused Amore and Cassady to be attacked by Tons of Funk. Amore and Cassady then feuded with Sylvester Lefort and his stable of Alexander Rusev and Scott Dawson. On the [[September 25, 2013 NXT results|25 September episode of NXT]], Amore and Cassady participated in a gauntlet match for a future shot at the NXT Tag Team Championship; they started the match and defeated CJ Parker and Tyler Breeze, then beat Rusev and Dawson, before falling to their final opponents, the Ascension. Amore suffered a broken leg in November 2013, which led Cassady to try his hand at singles competition, feuding with Aiden English. Amore returned on the [[June 26, 2014 NXT results|26 June 2014 episode of NXT]], saving Cassady from an attack from Sylvester Lefort and Marcus Louis. In early August, Amore and Cassady participated in a NXT Tag Team Championship number one contenders' tournament. They defeated Jason Jordan and Tye Dillinger in the first round but were eliminated by the Vaudevillains (Aiden English and Simon Gotch) in the second round. Lefort and Louis then renewed their rivalry with Amore and Cassady by attacking them and shaving Amore's beard. As a result, Amore challenged Lefort to a match with the loser's hair as forfeit at NXT TakeOver: Fatal 4-Way on 11 September. Amore proceeded to win the match but Lefort ran away, leaving his partner, Louis, to lose his hair at the hands of Amore and Cassady. Amore and Cassady proceeded to form an alliance with the debuting Carmella. The duo had accidentally cost Carmella her hairdressing job as per the storyline, causing her to demand to get a job as a wrestler. Carmella had her televised in-ring debut on the [[October 16, 2014 NXT results|October 16 episode of NXT]]. In March 2015, Amore and Cassady began a rivalry with NXT Tag Team Champions Blake and Murphy, with the champions insulting Amore and Cassady while attempting to woo Carmella. Amore and Cassady defeated The Lucha Dragons in a number one contender's match for a title opportunity against Blake and Murphy. Amore and Cassady received their title match at NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable, which they would lose after Alexa Bliss interfered. At NXT TakeOver: London, Enzo and Cass challenged Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson for the NXT Tag Team Championship in a losing effort. They were granted another title opportunity against Dawson and Wilder in March 2016 at WWE Roadblock. Main roster (2016–2018) On the Raw after WrestleMania 32, Amore and Cassady made their main roster debuts and confronted The Dudley Boyz. On the April 14 episode of SmackDown, Amore and Cassady defeated The Ascension in their main roster debut match, advancing in the WWE Tag Team Championship No. 1 contenders tournament. In the finals, Amore and Cassady faced The Vaudevillains at Payback, with the match ending in a no contest after Amore suffered a legitimate concussion during the match. In May 2016, Cassady's ring name was changed to Big Cass. On the June 6 episode of Raw, during the match between Enzo and Cass and The Vaudevillains, Cass witnessed English attempting to injure Amore in a similar manner of what Gotch did to him at Payback. This led to Cass attacking The Vaudevillains, including executing an East River Crossing on Gotch. At Money in the Bank, Enzo and Cass competed in a fatal four-way tag team match also involving The New Day, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson and The Vaudevillains for the WWE Tag Team Championship, which they lost. On the July 4 episode of Raw, Enzo and Cass helped John Cena from an attack by The Club, involving themselves in the feud between Cena and The Club. At Battleground, Enzo and Cass teamed with Cena to defeat The Club in a six-man tag team match. On July 19 at the 2016 WWE draft, Enzo and Cass were drafted to Raw. Following Battleground, Enzo and Cass feuded with Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens, which culminated at SummerSlam, where Jericho and Owens defeated Enzo and Cass. On the August 22 episode of Raw, Cass qualified for the fatal four-way match for the WWE Universal Championship by defeating United States Champion Rusev by countout. The next week on Raw, he competed against Kevin Owens, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins, being eliminated by Owens, marking the first time he was pinned on the main roster. Enzo and Cass then started a feud with The Shining Stars, losing to them in tag team and singles matches. On the November 7 episode of Raw, Enzo and Cass were announced as part of Team Raw for the 10–on–10 Survivor Series Tag Team Elimination match at Survivor Series, which Team Smackdown won. Afterwards, Enzo and Cass started a rivalry with Rusev. On the December 5th episode of Raw, Enzo got lured into a trap by Lana and Rusev. Big Cass lost to Rusev via countout on the Roadblock: End of the Line preshow. He entered the 2017 Royal Rumble match at #1, but was unsuccessful in winning it as he was eliminated by Braun Strowman, the latter of whom entered the match at #7. He and partner Enzo Amore wrestled at WrestleMania 33 in a Fatal Four Way Ladder match against The Club (Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson), Sheamus & Cesaro and The Hardy Boyz. He was released from the WWE on June 19, 2018. Independent circuit (2018-present) Following his release from the WWE, still using his ring name Big Cass, he returned to the ring on December 1, 2018 at House Of Hardcore's Blizzard Brawl event, during which he lost to fellow WWE alumnus MVP. The following year on April 27, 2019 Cass returned made his debut in ACW Wisconsin at the 2019 ACW WrestlingCon, during which he teamed with wrestlers Don Gotti & Seth Twittkowske in a tag match defeating team Delirium. Northeast Wrestling (2019) On June 15, Morrissey made his debut in Northeast Wrestling under his new ring name Cass XL. His debut was at NEW's Six Flags Slam Fest event, during which Cass XL defeated Thrill Ride in a singles match. He later during the event wrestled a second singles match losing against fellow WWE alumnus Jon Moxley, formerly known in WWE as Dean Ambrose. Two months later Cass XL returned at Prison Break during which he won a singles match, defeating Thrillride. Personal life Morrissey was born and raised in Queens, New York. He attended Archbishop Molloy High School and served as a peer tutor, a homeless shelter volunteer, and a National Honor Society member. He played basketball in his senior year and was featured in the Catholic High School Athletic Association Senior Classic All-Star game. He then received a scholarship to attend New York University, where he entered the pre-medical track before going on to study economics. He played as a center for NYU's basketball team from the 2005–2006 season to the 2008–2009 season. He co-captained the team for his final season. Following his graduation, Morrissey started a ticket brokerage company, specializing in events at Yankee Stadium and Madison Square Garden. While performing in WWE, he claimed that he "hadn't sung in many years" but had experience with "street performing in the subways of New York City". In wrestling * Finishing moves ** Big boot ** East River Crossing (Sitout swinging side slam) *'Signature moves' ** Empire Elbow (Jumping elbow drop, with theatrics) ** High knee ** Sidewalk slam ** Spinning side slam ** Stinger splash * With Enzo Amore ** Double team finishing moves ***''Bada-boom Shakalaka'' (Rocket Launcher) *'Managers' **Carmella * Nicknames **"Big Cass" **"The Big Bambino" * Entrance themes **"SAWFT is a Sin" by CFO$ feat. Enzo Amore (used while teaming with Enzo Amore) **"Karma" by CFO$ Championships and accomplishments * Pro Wrestling Illustrated ** PWI ranked him #'206' of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2015 * WWE NXT ** NXT Year-End Awards (1 time) ***Tag Team of the Year (2015) External links * WWE.com Profile * Big Cass Profile Category:1986 births Category:2010 debuts Category:American wrestlers Category:Living people Category:Male wrestlers Category:New York wrestlers Category:ACW Wisconsin alumni Category:Florida Championship Wrestling alumni Category:House Of Hardcore alumni Category:Northeast Wrestling alumni Category:World Wrestling Entertainment alumni Category:WWE NXT alumni